Sylvan Esso Shares 1st Single in 3 Years ‘WDID’

Sylvan Esso shared the single, “WDID,” their first new music since the 2022 album, No Rules Sandy. The new track is not available to stream on Spotify after the duo of Amelia Meath and Nick Sanborn pulled their catalog from the streaming platform.

“WDID” was recorded at Sylvan Esso’s studio, Betty’s, in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Additional production and guitar was provided by Jake Luppen. The single is the first new Sylvan Esso music released on their Psychic Hotline label.

Coinciding with the “WDID” release, Meath and Sanborn announced their decision to remove their music from Spotify. Several other artists have similarly pulled their music from the streaming service, including King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard, Deradoorian, Deerhoof, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Hotline TNT, Xiu Xiu, The Mynabirds, WU LYF, Massive Attack, Young Widows, Kadhja Bonet and others. The musicians were motivated by Spotify CEO Daniel Ek’s investments with ties to lethal A.I. combat technology.

The statement from Sylvan Esso’s Meath and Sanborn follows:

“As we prepare to release new music, we have to decide what we want to be a part of and what we don’t. To that end, with Sylvan Esso being on our own label for the first time, we have decided to remove our music from Spotify. While no solution is perfect, we simply can’t continue to put our life’s work in a store that, in addition to all its other glaring flaws, directly funds war machines.

“Reaching towards the world we all deserve, even though we are not in it yet.”

The duo’s single “WDID” arrived with an official visualizer, which can be viewed via YouTube: